I am definitely gonna need some bar risers

[numb41]

Finally put some miles on the - new to me- '05. Right forearm sore, right shoulder sore, lower back sore. Stock windshield...meh. Engine wise, not enough o's in smooth. Ordered a set of heli's three minutes after I got off her. Twenty three dollars to ship, really? To be fair, there was an option for 15 bucks, which I did take. I just bought a battery and the shipping was free. The battery weighed 6lb? The risers weigh what, 8oz?

 

[vtwinn]

And add highway pegs if you don't have them

 

[HotRodZilla]

I went from a Honda VTX cruiser to my FJR. I ride her almost 600 miles home and was sore all over from using different muscles. I've never been sore since. Sometimes you just have to let your body adjust.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I found the FJR to be far more of a sport bike and less of a sport tourer, solely from a riding position perspective. Helibridge was a must, and worth far more than it cost, for me. I've considered highway pegs on past bikes, but was always worried that the attachment point would cause damage to the bike over time. I also didn't see how they'd be far enough forward to be useful. I'd be very interested in recommended highway pegs/placement for those of us that don't run cages. Especially interested in pics of them in use, or at least in the driveway with rider's feet on them. OP- congrats on your ride. My last bike was a police bike, so it had a modest topcase (radio box). Enough for little stuff, not enough for any bag or pack. I put a givi E55 on the FJR. I'll never go back. So much more convenient for daily use than side cases.

 

[Fred W]

Normally eschewing the slab at every opportunity, I had never been a big fan of highway pegs on ST bikes. But, knowing I'd be spending some quality time in the prairies, I decided to borrow a set for our "Vacation Ride to the Great Divide" last summer. Boy was I glad that I did. The pegs are not all that far forward, but they are far enough to allow you to support the weight of your torso on your legs when riding behind a big touring windshield. Without a strong wind blast to help hold you up, even a minor forward lean can get tiring in the normal "MYRP".

The ones I borrowed, and that I bought a set of as soon as I got my new bike last fall, are the most popular design, made by Wild Bill originally (not sure they are still making them) and currently available from Motorcycle Larry . They add two small brackets on either end of the engine crankcase covers.

Follow the above link for more pictures full details.

No... they are not inexpensive. I waited until a used set came up on the forum and pounced on them.

But they are very popular, so you have to be quick.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I went from a Honda VTX cruiser to my FJR. I ride her almost 600 miles home and was sore all over from using different muscles. I've never been sore since. Sometimes you just have to let your body adjust.

What ^^^he said.

I won some risers at the first CFO about 2 years after I got the bike. Took them off after a couple of years because I wanted the bars a little lower for twisty riding. Rode out to the PNW, Kali, Maine, etc...your body adjusts. For me, I am the most tense and sore after about 60 miles heading into a multi-thousand mile trip. Clenching my hands, bad posture...after that, I learn to adjust my posture and all is well...and don't think about it again.

 

[Big Sky]

Your selection of windshield could have a bearing on your need for risers. As Fred mentioned, windblast affects the weight born by hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

 

[SLK50]

For me, more time at the gym and less time at the keyboard

yielded a much more enjoyable riding experience.

No amount of fancy doo-dads can adequately compensate

for simply being out of shape.

I did however replace the rider's seat. There is no

exercise that can fix the original.

 

[Fred W]

All ergonomic advice depends entirely on your own body dimensions. Go to the cycle-ergo web site, and play with the various settings. Watch what happens to your forward lean angle when you raise that seat by 1" (Russell, Laam, Mayer, etc.), or how much difference there is between a 6' guy with a 32" inseam vs. one with 36" legs.

The idea that everyone should just adapt to the way that the bike came from the factory (because you were able to) is a bit disingenuous. Would those same people advise just learning to adapt to the stock suspension? Maybe if they just went to the gym and dropped down to 165 lbs everything would be fine.

 

[DennisJ]

I dropped from about 185 to 160 a couple of years ago after an accident and noticed that I had fewer sore muscles after 400 - 500 miles than previously. Put the difference down to just the weight loss but can see that it affected riding posture also.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I dropped from about 185 to 160 a couple of years ago after an accident and noticed that I had fewer sore muscles after 400 - 500 miles than previously. Put the difference down to just the weight loss but can see that it affected riding posture also.

Plus, your bike now lost that 25 pounds, is now "lighter" and much faster!

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

It's not at all uncommon when riding a new bike to unconsciously, but dramatically, increase your grip. When I bought my first FJR, I remember both arms being very sore...the right more than the left. It's kind of counterintuitive to think about relaxing your grip when you're riding something like the FJR, however, being conscious of an extra firm "gorilla grip" grip and relaxing a bit could very well help. There's also plenty of merit in the idea of using muscles you hadn't before.

Now, having said that, I'll tell you that I did add risers in order to move my body position closer to upright. When the Heli triple tree came out, I added that to my second FJR for the same reason.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

New bikes, old bikes, in between bikes. Never experienced any wrist or back discomfort on a bike. Until the stock FJR. Bad wrist/back pain on the FJR (still none on the other bikes). Only moving the bars back notably decreased discomfort. It's different for every rider, but in my case, it was the bike, not the grip or my posture. Vive le Helibridge. If I could only order longer/wider bars, it'd be perfect. Cranking them all the way back and inward makes for some heavy steering. Nothing unmanageable, just unusual. Great bike and great ride regardless.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Just another goofy thought from me...

On my relatively short ride to and from work on my '15 my hands and forearms were tired/hurting/cramping. I could not figure this out, the ride is only 8.5 miles, even with terrible traffic I was done in less than 20 minutes. I was upset and wondering if there were some strange ergonomic difference between my Gen3 and Dad's Gen2. It took almost two months before I figured out why.

Cold winter weather combined with (my first!) Heated Grips! I was unconsciously squeezing those heated grips much more tightly than I would have normally. Remembering to relax my grip made a huge difference. Oh, but they were some warm and comfy...

 

[Uncle Hud]

^^^^^^ ditto for the death grip on something warm. When it dips below 40, I'm strangling those handlebars. Wears out your finger/squeeze muscles.

 

[Fred W]

Another vote for heated gloves! No need to death grip the bars to stay warm.

(And 40 F would feel down right balmy here right about now)

 

[numb41]

yea, I've noticed that I had the death grip. Went to squeezing my knees together and conscientiously (sp?) trying to relax my grip. That helped a lot. Put 150miles on today with a stoopid 30mph crosswind. I was getting buffeted, but the bike felt very stable.

 

[richsp51]

All ergonomic advice depends entirely on your own body dimensions. Go to the cycle-ergo web site, and play with the various settings. Watch what happens to your forward lean angle when you raise that seat by 1" (Russell, Laam, Mayer, etc.), or how much difference there is between a 6' guy with a 32" inseam vs. one with 36" legs...

Thanks for posting the reference Fred. It's a very useful tool in evaluating options such as bar risers/bridges, seats etc.

 

[Lowcountry Joe]

For me, more time at the gym and less time at the keyboardyielded a much more enjoyable riding experience.

No amount of fancy doo-dads can adequately compensate

for simply being out of shape.

I did however replace the rider's seat. There is no

exercise that can fix the original.